


Maybe the world is blind (or just a little unkind)

by TheGayShipper (Miss_Vanderwaal)



Category: Pretty Little Liars, Pretty Little Liars RPF
Genre: Body Shaming, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 08:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7525969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Vanderwaal/pseuds/TheGayShipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Call it frustration, because I’m pretty damn sure it’s what motivates all those comments."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe the world is blind (or just a little unkind)

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't write this one simply because I love me some RPFs, but because the body shaming that's been going around in the PLL community towards Sasha Pieterse is something that's honestly been driving me insane for several months and, since I'm ridiculously shy, instead of taking a camera and bitching out about it on Youtube, I'm gonna bitch out about it on here. 
> 
> This is basically my way of saying that, if you shame others, in any shape or form, whether or not they're famous, please know that humanity would like to personally kick you in the crotch :)
> 
> Ps: the title is from Every Time I Turn Around, by Gary Portnoy (believe it or not, I got inspired while watching the opening of Punky Brewster).

   Shay stared blankly and for a long while at her laptop screen. For a nonspecific amount of time, she simply froze. Her lips were parted and dry in disbelief, her throat was sore all of a sudden, which gave her the feeling that she was running out of oxygen. Her stomach was doing back flips and she was pretty sure that her heart was stagnant inside her chest.

   Her phone rang beside her, helping her break away of that terrifying trance. It was Samantha. She quickly answered her assistant.

\- Hey, Sammy – she greeted in a quite lifeless tone.

\- Alright, I’m looking at the pictures – Sammy blurted out and Shay could feel the proud grin in her friend’s words. – Damn it, Shannon, you two look _hot_. And by _hot_ I mean I can’t go back to doing my resting bitch face because I can’t stop smiling. You did good by keeping these pictures from me, by the way. I still don’t get how you did it and I also don’t care because it was totally worth the wait.

   Shay didn’t smile along; she didn’t even roll her eyes at the sound of her full first name coming from Sammy’s mouth in a playful tone – which was something she usually did. All because her stomach ache was getting worse by the second.

\- Sammy, you’re at the official Pretty Little Liars Facebook page, right?

   Sammy must’ve picked up on Shay’s worried tone because her own voice sounded worried as she replied.

\- Yeah, why?

   Shay ran her left palm over her forehead and took a deep breath. She was starting to sweat.

\- Scroll down – she said, seriously. – And read the comments.

   There was a second of silence.

\- What the hell, Shay? You’re acting like you’ve seen a ghost.

\- Just read the comments – Shay emphasized, cutting off Sammy’s last word. She was certain that her jitters were fully showing now.

   Instantly there was a longer silence in the other end of the line, an uncomfortable one. Shay knew that Sammy was starting to look over the comment section below the post, so she did it again as well, even though it hurt.

   The top comment was the most sensible one; it was all in caps and had a lot of exclamation points, but the main idea was _To all of you who are still bitching about Sasha’s weight, shut the fuck up!_

Shay could almost smile again after rereading that comment, and she was indeed kind of relived that it had the most likes, but either way it made a direct reference to the sea of ignorance just below it. She had never seen anything like it.

   There was all sorts of comments there; “nice” ones, like _Sasha is my ultimate queen, but it’s undeniable that she put on a little weight since season 5A started_ and utter absurdities like _Looks like the game changed, Alison used to make fun of Hanna for being fat and now Hanna gets to make fun of Alison_ ; all of them were making Shay want to throw her laptop out the window and go gorge on some pizza – it was one of the few things able to de-stress her.

\- God… – Sammy finally muttered, sounding nauseous.

\- I know – Shay said as her eyes fell on a comment that she hadn’t read until the moment; _I wish they’d chosen another picture for the shirt, this one doesn’t justify how hot Sasha actually is_. It made Shay’s eyes fill with tears. – I swear to you, Sammy, I’d report each and every one of these profiles if I could.

\- And then what? They’d be without Facebook for, maybe, a week but later they’d find someone else to body shame on.

   Shay closed her eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted, even though that Saturday was technically her day off. It was true, unfortunately. People always got away with body shaming others.

\- This reminds me so much of when you guys went on The Talk – Sammy added, sadly. – I didn’t get to watch it live so I resorted to Youtube. And the comment section on that video was just as disgusting.

   Now Sammy was the one who sounded as if she had tears in her eyes. Shay’s memory flashed back to that particular interview; Sasha, sitting next to her, had been all smiles during the whole thing, just like she was with literally everything else. Shay’s heart clenched even more. Sasha simply _didn’t_ deserve to see all that wickedness.

\- I have to do something, Sammy. I mean, you should’ve seen her when Marlene told us that she wanted Emison to have a themed shirt just like the other couples on the show. Her face just lit up! She looked thirteen again. And in the day of the photoshoot she kept laughing and saying “they’ll freak out!”. She was… – Shay pursed her lips to try and not sob – she was so _happy_ for our fans.

   Judging by the short silence that followed her last statement, Shay felt that her friend was smiling compassionately.

\- I believe you will do something, baby. But how about going out for a run? Honestly, a good run always helps you think clearer.

   Shay considered the possibility for a moment and then smiled, thankfully, wiping a tear. Sammy was like her personal _everything_ , including doctor when she needed to be, even when it was technically her day off too.

\- You’re absolutely right, as always. Thank you – she blew a kiss to the girl and hung up, then promising to herself that she wouldn’t cry anymore over the words of those so called fans.

   She shut her laptop and pushed it aside on her bed, rapidly changing into workout shorts and sneakers. Lastly, she fixed her long hair in a ponytail and felt ready to go, but as she was walking out of her room, she eyed her desktop Mac for no reason. Her fingers were suddenly itching to write.

   Shay opened her text editor and started typing determinately onto a blank page.

_I dare to call myself a temporarily famous artist and, under the assumption that I am one, I really doubt that people believe most of us whenever we say “I’m just like you”. Wait, who am I kidding? Of course they don’t. For example, I love Beyoncé and I’d squint at her if she ever said such thing to my face. I’d say it’s natural of the contemporary human race. Now, there are ways for one to prove to others their said “normality” (or anything, really), which are their words and their actions. If I say I am this or that today and start acting like it as well, you’ll believe me, right? But there’s where the tricky part lives. Words are the only thing in our power for us to prove something to someone when it comes to the past. There's where trust comes into play._

_Some of you are part of my journey for more than six years and trust me enough to have me as some sort of role model. It could not be more flattering. But I haven’t always been a role model (and I’m gonna need a little bit of that trust now). I got to do my fair share of wrong, I’ve let others guide me in unhealthy ways, I’ve tried to hide myself in so many levels, from eating lunch in the bathroom instead of the high school cafeteria (so the mean girls wouldn’t see me) to putting on tons of face powder to try and whiten my natural skin tone. I, once, almost ended up in the ER after asking a friend to straighten my hair with an iron (a real clothing iron). I, for many years, lived in fear of being authentic to who I really am and that is my sole regret in life._

_However, that, as everything bad or scary in life, was a phase. I’ve changed as soon as I started seeing the world from a different angle, literally. My first real job as a model took me from Canada to China. It left me undone in the best sense of the word, and I had to put myself together again with all these new concepts of good food, family, happiness and beauty. Good thing I never stopped after Hong Kong. Then came Indonesia, Brazil, India, Haiti, Italy and others. All with the most mesmerizing cultures, teaching me that every human being on Earth is marvelously different._

_I’m not here trying to say, in any way, that you can only experience what I’ve experienced spending money on plane tickets; but, if you’re reading this, it means you have a phone in your hands or a computer in front of you. Use the internet, one of the greatest tools ever created, to learn about different places, to talk to different people. Show them how unique you are and be open so they can show you just how unique they are as well._

_No matter where you’re from, no matter what color your skin is, no matter the body you have…_

_Celebrate your uniqueness today and forever._

_With genuine love,_

_Shay Mitchell._

   

   When Shay typed in the last period, she breathed out heavily. Both of her hands were shaking and her heart was hammering like a kangaroo on adrenaline. She felt like she had already run a marathon. She logged in again on her Facebook page and posted the little heart to heart rant on it, logging out before any of her followers could hit the like button.

   She set her phone to vibrator mode and arranged it so the waistband of her shorts would hold it close to her stomach. The wire of her earphones, covered by her cotton tank top, led up to her ears the original version of Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love and she decided to walk and not run after all. Exercising while the sun was setting had the same therapeutic effect over her either way.

   About forty-five minutes and twenty times the same song later, realizing unconsciously that she was just a few blocks away from her street again, Shay felt the gadget vibrating against her skin. It was a call from Sasha. Surprisingly, Shay had to hear the blonde’s voice to remember properly what had happened moments before.

\- Hey, Sash – she greeted, grinning and not exactly thinking about what she had shared with the world earlier. – How’s it going?

\- Fine. Uh, I just wrapped my scenes for today.

   It sounded like Sasha wanted to say something more, so Shay waited a second, but nothing else came out of the other one’s mouth.

\- Just chilling in your dressing room, then?

   Sasha let out a polite laugh.

\- Sort of, yeah. Actually, I was just on Facebook. And it’s… still hard for me to picture you eating your lunch in the bathroom.

   Again, Shay could _feel_ the smile in the other end of the line, warm and welcoming, and it instantly brought one to her lips as well.

\- Well, high school will always be high school, right? – she waited a couple more seconds for the reply.

\- Thank you for what you wrote – Sasha’s voice was heavier, but equally sweet. – Really, every word.

   It sounded like Sasha _knew_ it had been for her. Shay grabbed her tank top at chest height softly.

\- Sash, are you crying?

   Another short period of silence, although Shay heard the blonde gasping subtly at the end of it, as if she was trying to hold her tears.

\- It’s just that those words meant so much to me. You have no idea.

   Shay felt herself softening as a whole. She thought inevitably of holding the younger girl.

\- Oh, sweetie, you are so very welcome.

   Sasha breathed in carefully and Shay pictured her wiping a tear.

\- I wish you were working today. I wish I could at least thank you looking straight in your eyes.

\- Hey, let’s not give the circumstances a chance to hold us back – Shay joked, smiling again. – You caught me in the middle of a light workout session, but I’ll be at the lot in a few minutes if you don’t mind hugging me while I’m all sweaty.

   Sasha laughed delightfully this time. Shay lived just a few blocks away from the Warner Brothers’ lot and she might make it soon enough if she in fact ran.

\- No, I don’t mind.

\- Ok, then. And, Sasha? – she waited for the blonde’s “hmm?” – They’re blind, you know? All those people. They’re blind and unfortunate and I actually feel terribly bad for them because they don’t get to see you almost every single day like I do. They don’t get to see your beautiful smile and the way it lights up any room the second you walk in. They don’t get to hold you like I’m aiming to right now. So call it frustration, because I’m pretty damn sure it’s what motivates all those comments.

   Sasha was silent for another handful of seconds and said only one more thing before hanging up.

\- I love you, girl of the world.

**Author's Note:**

> "Celebrate your uniqueness" is something Shay says all the time and I honestly think it's one of the most beautiful advices someone can give to their fellow human beings. 
> 
> Also, what Sasha posted on Instagram (I think) a few days ago was another thing that put me in the mood to write this.
> 
> And yes, those are, sadly, all real comments about Sasha that were copied from PLL Facebook pages.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [I Don't Care What You Look Like (You're Beautiful To Me)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679848) by [HarleysLittleMonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarleysLittleMonster/pseuds/HarleysLittleMonster)




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